The Nightmare of Night Flights
Basic Information
What is a night flight?
It is a flight which lands or takes off at night. Simple! Except, when it comes to night
flights, the Department for Transport says there are two "night" periods. Although
"night" is officially from 11.00pm until 7am, there are only restrictions on the number
of flights permitted during the "night quota" period, 11.30pm until 6am.
How many night flights are allowed at Heathrow?
16 flights are allowed between 11.30pm and 6am on a typical night. Some nights
there are more, but, over a year, it must average out as no more than 16 each night.
There are no scheduled take-offs between 11.30pm and 6am.
arrives about 4.30am.
The first flight
Between 6am and 7am, there are no restrictions. In fact, this is one of the busiest
hours of the day. There are over 65 flights. It is the only hour when planes are
permitted to land on both runways, at least for some of the time.
Is this number set in stone?
No, every five/six years the Government enters into an agreement with the airlines
into the number of flights that will be permitted to use Heathrow, Stansted and
Gatwick airports at night. The current agreement ends in Autumn 2012.
Are there night flights at other European airports?
Yes. There is no major airport in Europe with a night ban. Many of the airports have
more night flights than Heathrow.
1.
2..
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
14.
15.
Airport
Paris/CDG
Frankfurt
Madrid
Istanbul
Koln-Bonn
Barcelona
Athens
Brussels
Schiphol
Gatwick
Heathrow
Stansted
Dublin
Munich
Liege
Number of Flights (11pm - 7am) (2008)
151
124
122
113
103
98
95
94
92
86
82
81
67
65
61
Source: EuroControl Trends in Air Traffic Volume 5, 2009
But well over half a million people are overflown by Heathrow night flights more than any other place in Europe.
8. Aren’t night flights essential for the economy?
Probably not. There are two key reports.
A report commissioned by HACAN* from the respected Dutch consultants CE Delft
and published in 2011 concluded that a ban on night flights at Heathrow is likely to be
beneficial to the economy as the economic costs of the ban will be outweighed by
the savings made by the reduced health costs of the sleep
A night flights ban
disturbance and stress caused by the noise of the night
at Heathrow before
flights. The cost of a night flight ban is likely to range from
6am could bring
a saving to the UK economy of up to £86 million per year to
savings of up to
a loss of £3.5 million. A loss would only occur if all current
£86 million a year
night time passengers stopped travelling to Heathrow once
a night flight ban was introduced. That however is highly unlikely.
* Source: Ban on Night Flights at Heathrow Airport, CE Delft, 2011
In 2005 a European Commission report* argued that night flights boost the
economy of Europe. But it was a flawed study. It did not look at the possible
benefits to other areas of the economy if night flights were restricted or banned. For
example, the rail freight industry might grow. And so would the hotel and catering
industries. The main reason given for night flights at Heathrow is that they enable
business people to get to a morning meeting in Europe. If these business people
could not fly overnight, they would need to spend an extra night or two at hotels in
Europe. The European economy would therefore benefit as these travellers spent
money on accommodation and in local restaurants and bars. In short, any losses
through a restriction or ban on night flights is likely be off-set by gains (and
jobs) in other areas of the economy.
* Source: Assessing the Economic Cost of Night Flight Restrictions, European Commission 2005
9. Are night flights needed from an operational point of view?
No. What is clear from the European Commission's report is that, if they are required
to do so, the airlines can reschedule their flights to daytime. Night flights are
operationally convenient for the aviation industry, but not essential.
10. Would restrictions/bans in Europe mean more night flights in other
parts of the world?
The argument is sometimes made that a ban of night flights in Europe would mean
flights would require to land or take off in other countries, some of them much poorer
than European countries, at unsociable hours. But that was not the conclusion of the
European Commissions Report. It found:
“If the same restrictions apply to all the competing airlines flying the European long-haul routes, they do
seem to be able to adapt their schedules and get over slot availability, congestion, and connections, and
fly by day.” European Commission 2005
• We have produced a separate 4 page briefing on night flights and health.
Available on our website or by contacting us - details below.
Published by HACAN, representing people under the Heathrow flight paths, PO Box 339, Twickenham,TW1 2XF; 020
8876 0455; info@hacan.org.uk; www.hacan.org.uk Photos by Phil Weedon.
Printed by RAP Spiderweb; March 2011